Posted on 07/21/2017 9:06:34 AM PDT by Lorianne
Some people say capitalism and alligators have much in common — both eat their young. While the rich get richer (and will get richer still if the #FakePresident has his way), ordinary schlubs who are working one, two, or sometimes three jobs to make ends meet are finding they can no longer afford to buy average new cars.
That’s according to a new study by Bankrate.com. It finds that people living in 24 of the 25 largest metropolitan areas in the US cannot afford the average price of new cars, which was $33,000 in May according to Kelly Blue Book. In six of those cities, people struggle to afford cars cost half that much.
Only in Washington, DC, where the median income is over $100,000, are people able to afford a new car. But the statistics for the nation’s capitol are wildly skewed by all the millionaires in Congress and the $1,000 an hour lobbyists who grease the wheels of democracy.
“Affordability” is a relative term, of course. For purposes of the Bankrate study, analysts used the so-called 20/4/10 rule. It assumes a 20 percent down payment, a 48 month loan, and a total of of insurance and loan payments that does not exceed 10 percent of a family’s gross income.
“The [average] household can’t comfortably afford to buy a new vehicle,” said Claes Bell, a Bankrate.com analyst. “That means a lot of households are overextending themselves on car costs, and that can potentially crowd out other priorities such as saving for retirement.”
“This issue of affordability isn’t just about the price of cars. It’s about the stagnation of wages,” Bell said. “Car costs are not rising all that quickly over time, but things like health care and college costs are going up and wages aren’t [keeping up]. Budgets are being stretched.”
“People should prepare for a car purchase by saving for a down payment,” Bell said. “Sometimes people impulsively go to a car lot and get sold on buying a new car. But if they don’t have a sufficient down payment saved, it will be hard to fit the payment into their budget.”
The total of auto loan indebtedness now stands at $1.2 trillion — about 10% of all consumer debt according to the Federal Reserve. Late payments on car loans is rising. Nearly 4% were delinquent at the end of March according to data compiled by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
“People fall in love with cars they can’t afford, and that’s how they get in trouble,” said John Gajkowski, a certified financial planner and co-founder of Money Managers Financial Group.
Capitalism assumes constant growth — a model that is inherently unsustainable. Real wages for workers have been falling slowly but surely in America for 40 years. The cost of living continues its upward climb while globalization forces American workers to compete with the low paid labor in other parts of the world.
Car makers are subsidizing sales with low interest rates and extended term loans. On some high end models, it is now possible to get loans that extend out to 96 months or more. But people seldom keep a car that long, which means they find themselves owing more than their car is worth when it comes time to go car shopping again. It’s a vicious circle that is not likely to end well for manufacturers or consumers.
Don't leave out Government Regulations which have added more to the cost of a new car than anything else. With every new regulation comes increased cost.
Just wait until autonomous vehicles become required.
***Bankrate study, analysts used the so-called 20/4/10 rule. It assumes a 20 percent down payment, a 48 month loan,***
Think about the olden days before car sales companies started offering long, long term credit often with no money down.
Back then, you made your buying deal, then went to the local bank, and negotiated a loan + sales tax loan through them.
A new car was 20% down and 24 months to pay the loan off.
A used car was 20% down and 18 months to pay the loan off.
None of this 72 months and no down.
There is a difference between the average cost of a new car and the cost of the average new car purchased.
Also, the average age of a car on the road is about 11 years.
This is all just fun with numbers. Make statistics prove your agenda.
I will do what I did last time: buy a certified pre-owned car with low miles (this was before Cash for Clunkers drove up prices). Even that will be exorbitant in cost.
The car I have now was one year old when I bought it, in great shape with under 20K miles. It now has 110K and I take good care of it praying it will make 250K. The process of buying a car in this country is thoroughly unpleasant from cost to negotiation.
The math is a little different when you can depreciate the vehicle through an S-Corp, which I did.
But, I haven’t bought new for myself in nearly 20 years. There is a huge hit on resale, and buying a well kept vehicle that is a year or two old can save you a lot of money, sometimes close to half price unless it’s a highly desirable make and model.
My problem is, I always tend to want the highly desirable makes and models, lol, so the price used is not at such a steep discount. The upside to that is, the resale is still high when you go to sell it, assuming you’ve taken reasonable care of it.
Same here. I typically buy myself a 3 year old vehicle with under 36,000 miles on it and drive it for 10 years. Pay cash for it, let some other chucklehead take the big hit on depreciation for the first three years.
no kidding it’s true. we have a fleet of old and beater cars in the driveway that come with their respective list of repairs needed, A 2000 Jeep that our daughter gave us to recompense for her car insurance costs that just hit 200K miles. A VW Passat2005 diesel baking in the sun that needs work and will not start, A GMC cargo van 92 that has a steering wheel, tires, dash no heat,no AC, no radio but cranks every time and had a transmission rebuild/alignment, new tires. It has lots of cool Trump stickers... then we have a toyota (late nineties) Camry that has half the front bumper missing when 2 dogs ran out in front of us on the highway leaving Tyler. It runs and has AC.
Many nice new cars delivered for under $23k.
I’m surprised there isn’t a federal excise tax based on vehicle weight. Seems like the feds would want their share if people are willing to be so profligate.
Yeah, I got about a 25-30% discount just by buying pre-owned. Moreover, I was able to trade in an older (2004) Jeep, and well kept Jeeps, even higher mileage ones, tend to hold solid resale value.
Re: average car cost. The author is correct.
Re: #FakePresident. I’ll take him over Madam Cyberhack.
Although Unions are a factor, excessive federal regulations have a far greater impact on base cost....
I can see a future where individuals goes to a local shop where their car frame, body, doors, etc are 3d printed and then engine, glass, electronics added. This could make for a more customized solution that might be less expensive.
Obviously, the parasitic, tax hungry and regulatory Federal government has done a bang up job of inflating goods and services beyond the reach of the Middle Class.
That $3014 in 1968 is $21,125 today after inflation.
I stopped reading here: “and will get richer still if the #FakePresident has his way”
I’m retired and on a fixed income. I hade no problem buying a loaded pickup last year.
Last car I bought was a 2010 Genesis coupe. Paid 29K, new model but still got it for under sticker. Had approached a chevy dealer about the just released Camaro, in 2009. They wanted sticker plus 10K for the V-8 model or circa 45K. After laughing pointed out the company was in BK and not sure it would honor their warrantee. Now have 52K on car, will keep for another 4-6 years as I do with my cars routinely. My prior car was a 98 Taurus that had 80K; then a 91 T bird with 70k and then a 75 Cordoba with fine corinthian leather with 230K and which I sold for 1K with a new car price of 6K.
I don’t know how anyone making normal money can either buy a home or new vehicle these days.
>>> Although Unions are a factor, excessive federal regulations have a far greater impact on base cost....
Could be... and it wouldn’t surprise me.
Speaking of which... that is most likely the primary reason why market forces have been unable to compensate through alternate means and/or competition.
Unions + Government = Socialism.
We just bought a new minivan, and went with a seven year loan. I am paying it off like a three year loan.
Having the flexibility to shift down is nice. When my truck needed repairs, I paid the minimum for a few months.
Still sucks though.
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